Two separate paradigms utilizing measurements of reaction time were employed to study facial feature saliency in schematic line drawn faces. In the first paradigm the speed of response to the omission of different facial components was measured, and in the second, the speed of response to feature substitution was measured. In both paradigms the facial features were presented in a random temporal sequence in order to minimise preferential scanning strategies. The two separate paradigms reflected the feature hierarchy most commonly found in the literature, ie the outline and eyes are more salient than the nose and mouth in terms of both speed of processing and error rate. In a third study the feature substitution paradigm was used to investigate the effects of feature saliency on the perception of emotional faces. The results suggest a change in the eyes/mouth hierarchy so that the mouth becomes the most salient feature in the surprised, happy, and sad target faces. This reverse in hierarchy, however, was not evident with the angry target face. These results are discussed in terms of changes in the focus of 'attention' and/or changes in 'processing efficiency'.

Background Cuminum cyminum L., commonly known as cumin, has been traditionally used in Thai traditional medicine and traditional food flavoring. The present study investigated the chemical composition, antimicrobial activity against all tested major food-borne pathogenic bacteria, and bioactive components of essential oil extracted from C. cyminum L. collected in Thailand. Methods The main components of the essential oil were investigated by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique. Antibacterial activities against Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella Typhi were investigated by disk diffusion and microdilution method. The presence of the biologically active antibacterial components was also confirmed by the thin-layer chromatography (TLC)-bioautography. Results The main components of the essential oil investigated by GC-MS were cuminaldehyde (27.10%), beta-pinene (25.04%) and gamma-terpinene (15.68%). The essential oil exhibited antibacterial activity against B. cereus, S. aureus, E. coli and S. Typhi. The essential oil showed the strongest antimicrobial activity against B. cereus with a comparable inhibition zone to tetracycline. TLC confirmed the presence of biologically active antibacterial component in the essential oil against all tested food-borne bacteria. It is further demonstrated that cuminaldehyde was the most active compound in TLC-bioautography which inhibited all of tested bacteria. Conclusions Essential oil extracted from C. cyminum L. exhibited antibacterial activity against all tested major food-borne pathogenic bacteria. Cuminaldehyde is a major bioactive component. Our results suggest that the essential oil extracted from C. cyminum L. could be applied as an alternative natural preservative to control food-borne disease and have the potential for further development of new antibacterial agents.

This study examined the effects of homophobia, subject gender, and gender and sexual orientation of petitioning parent on attitudes about judgements in child custody cases. A total of 274 introductory psychology students participated in both phases of the research. In Phase One, subjects completed the Heterosexual Attitudes Toward Homosexuals Scale and the Kinsey Heterosexual-Homosexual Rating Scale that were embedded in a general questionnaire on social attitudes. In Phase Two, these same subjects were asked to give their opinions about the outcome of contrived child custody cases where the parent winning custody was homosexual or heterosexual. As expected, there was less support for a homosexual than a heterosexual parent. This was particularly noticeable for male subjects. Unexpectedly, mothers were not favoured over fathers, but instead subjects favoured parents of the same gender. Further, subjects low in homophobia reacted more favourably to a homosexual parent than a heterosexual parent, while the reverse was true for those high in homophobia. Implications of the results for public and judicial attitudes about custody decisions were considered. ResumeCette £tude analysait les correlations entre I'homophobie, le sexe des sujets, les orientations sexuelles de parents requeiants, et les opinions/attitudes sur les jugements dans des causes de garde des enfants. En tout, 274 e'tudiants de premier cycle en psychologie ont participe' aux deux phases de l'£tude. Dans la phase i, les sujets ont rempli les tests d'echelle d'attitudes heterosexuelles a l'endroit des homosexuels et d'echelle Kinsey devaluation heterosexuelle/ homosexuelle. Dans la phase U, on a demande a ces memes sujets de donner leur opinion sur les resultats de cas hypothe'tiques de garde d'enfants ou le parent se voyant accorder la garde des enfants 6tait soit homosexuel, soit heteYosexuel. Comme prevu, il y a eu moins d'appui pour les parents homosexuels que pour les parents heterosexuels. Ce facteur a surtout 6t6 remarqu£ chez les sujets masculins. Resultat moins attendu, les meres n'ont pas rec,u plus d'appui que les peres, mais les sujets ont sembki favoriser les parents du meme sexe qu'eux. De plus, les sujets dont la tendance homophobe etait faible ont reagi de maniere plus favorable a un parent homosexuel qu'a

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The development of head orientation to auditory stimulation was examined in rat pups at Postnatal Days 8,11,14,17, and 20. The animals were tested in a quiet environment with single bursts of 65 dB (SPL) broad-band noise. A reflexive head turn toward the sound was first seen on Postnatal Day 14 and subsequently on Days 17 and 20. This result demonstrates that the onset of directional auditory responses occurred between Day 11 and Day 14. The role of binaural cues in early sound orientation was examined in 17-day-old pups with monaural ligation of the external meatus. These animals were unable to localize a sound source and consistently turned toward the side of the unligated ear regardless of the position of the stimulus. Thus binaural cues were shown to be important for head orientation to sound in early development. In a separate study, head orientation to high and low frequency tone pips was examined. Directional responses were first seen on Day 12 fora 16-kHz tone and Day 14 for a 2-kHz tone. These results indicate an earlier onset for orientation to high frequency sounds in the rat.